The Jets are holding their Prospects Training Camp today. Related to that is how well Winnipeg Jets Management have done with cultivating a pool of viable prospects. The Winnipeg Jets conducted their first draft (June 24-25, 2011) within a month of moving the Atlanta Thrashers to Winnipeg (May 31, 2011). Now two year later in 2013, we are starting to see some improvement in the future prospects of the Jets.
This blog post summarizes the work of Corey Pronman of HockeyProspectus.com who has completed an evaluation of all NHL prospects. By focusing on the Jets prospects standings for the last two years and player performance stats, I can provide a final evaluation about where each Prospect from 2011 stands in 2013 in making the Jets. Note that the stats for each league is combined regular season and playoffs games.
Next year, I will do the same process, but it will be years 2012 to 2014.
The Jets have been getting better according to Corey Pronman. In 2011, the Jets were ranked 29 out of 30 teams. In 2012 they moved up six positions to be ranked 23 of 30 teams. And in just this year, they moved up an astounding 11 positions to be ranked 12 out of 30 teams. The prospect pool for the Jets is getting stronger and that’s not surprising since the Jets are not rushing their young players through like Atlanta used to.
The Jets prospect pool has improved from being at the bottom to being in the middle of the pack in three drafts. 2013 will be the year we should see that potential translate to on-ice outcomes. It is looking like the Jets being cocky and taking Scheifele so early in the 2011 draft is looking promising given his dominating year in the OHL.
| 2011-2013 NHL Organizational Rankings by Corey Pronman | ||||||||
| Winnipeg Jets Top 10 Prospects * | 2011 – 29th of 30 | 2012 – 23rd of 30 | 2013 – 12th of 30 | |||||
| Prospect, Position | 2011-12 Stats | 2012-13 Stats | Chance for 2013-14 Jets Grad/Good/Fair/Poor/Lost | |||||
| 1. Paul Postma, Defense | Games: 3 NHL, 71 AHL | Points: 0 NHL, 54 AHL | Games: 34 NHL, 27 AHL | Points: 9 NHL, 18 AHL | Grad – Expected to be Jets 6th or 7th defenceman | |||||
| 2. Mark Scheifele, Center | Games: 7 NHL, 60 OHL | Points: 1 NHL, 75 OHL | Games: 4 NHL, 66 OHL | Points: 0 NHL, 120 OHL | Good – dominated OHL and should make Jets | |||||
| 3. Arturs Kulda, Defense | Games: 9 NHL, 76 AHL | Points: 0 NHL, 21 AHL | Games: 57 KHL | Points: 16 KHL | Poor – getting lost in the pack | |||||
| 4. Ivan Telegin, Center | Games: 59 OHL | Points: 78 OHL | Games: 34 AHL | Points: 10 AHL | Fair – had some injuries, needs more time | |||||
| 5. Carl Klingberg, Right Wing | Games: 6 NHL, 78 AHL | Points: 0 NHL, 39 AHL | Games: 66 AHL | Points: 23 AHL | Poor – getting lost in the pack | |||||
| 6. Spencer Machacek, Right Wing | Games: 13 NHL, 61 AHL | Points: 9 NHL, 50 AHL | Games: 75 AHL | Points: 39 AHL | Lost – traded to Blue Jackets and is currently in AHL | |||||
| 7. Julian Melchiori, Defense | Games: 61 OHL | Points: 37 OHL | Games: 52 AHL | Points: 8 AHL | Poor – getting lost in the pack, needs more time | |||||
| 8. Adam Lowry, Left Wing | Games: 36 WHL | Points: 37 WHL | Games: 9 AHL, 72 WHL | Points: 1 AHL, 88 WHL | Poor – getting lost in the pack, needs more time | |||||
| 9. Daultan Leveille, Center | Games: 21 CCHA | Points: 9 CCHA | Games: 19 AHL, 31 ECHL | Points: 2 AHL, 10 ECHL | Lost – not signed and is currently in ECHL | |||||
| 10. Akim Aliu, Right Wing | Games: 2 NHL, 47 AHL | Points: 3 NHL, 15 AHL | Games: 5 NHL, 42 AHL | Points: 0 NHL, 11 AHL | Lost – traded to Flames and is currently in AHL | |||||
| *Jason Gregoire, Left Wing, would have made this list, but Corey Pronman did not have enough information to do a sufficient profile. | ||||||||
